Sectional vertical acting door



Nov. 13, 1951 H. c. BLODGETT 2,575,255

SECTIONAL VERTICAL ACTING DOOR I Filed Sept. 19, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Nov. 13, 1951 c. BLODGETT 2,575,255

SECTIONAL VERTICAL ACTING DOOR Filed Sept; 19; 1947 v 7 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 /5 7/ 72 M :ZZZ'JJIQE 11.

INVENTOR. f6 firfier/ Cac/ 13/047227 Q QMQMQ {g7 ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 13, 1951 v 2575,25'5 I H SECTIONAL vERTIcAnAoTmenooR HerbwctBicsdgemnartfdm City;-ln'd., assignor ggiverhead flbor*Corporation -Hartford Cityi- Application september 19, 1917; Serial- Nd. 175023 T i Claim's' (01. 160 -2229) This invention relates to :improvem'ent's :in' ver-' tical-lyracting' door construction;

Thepri'ncipal objects "of this inventionaief First; to providea'doorstr'ucture ofthe horizontally'hinged sectional type arranged to be openedb'y vertical inovement'o'f the door in which the several sections of"th"e"ddor 'mayi'beassembled from a" minimum number of I different stamped'or bent 'or'rolled parts or elements; thus reducing'-the"cost"of dies'andothe'r machinery? 1'0 forprodu'cing the elements."

Second;- to provide a structure fer "the sections ofa Horizontally hingedsectional door'lin which. thelments 'of the door section'maybe economi-- cally-producedfrom sheet metal by stamping or bendingsheet-stock and cuttiii'g'i the 1 elements to 'the desired length-s:

Third? toprovide"a ddofof th'e horizontany hinged sectional type whichwill' have a smooth exteriorsurfa'ce of pleasingappearance and one in which the joints are efiectivedn excludi'rig windand water.

Fourtnto p'rovide'a doorconstru'eticin for the sections of a horizontally hinged secti'o'nalldoor which permitsth'e" easy 'ar'idi'inei'zpensivewelding,.v

of -*"the severalelements 'of each section and in j whichthe -=size-of 'the*severa1 elements" mayfbe readily-changedto providedoor section ofdif ferent sizes-with" aminimum' of "alteratikin'br ad justment of-the machinery'for producing theele= Fifth; to provide a-stile element fdrthe 'ends "or center -ofa-'sec-tional= doorwhich-may b'e "econon' ical-l'XFpro-ducedin varying lengthsand "easily" as sembled by welding to the rail and panelporti'ons of the do'or sect-ion;

Sixth-,- to -provide= a combined 'panelanwrail" element for a sectional door'whic'h'may be-"ea'si'ly" produced by bending orstamping from sheet metal stock to provide an overlapbetween" the 4g door-sections and whic'his easily-joined by weldirig to' the stile elements' of the door section; 7

Seventh; to" prov-idea structure 'f0rthesections ofa -horizontally hinged sectional door in' which" noneofthe screws oi-' bolts 'fcr attaching" thehing'e elements 4 and fiiitiir'es of the door project through the front surface -of-'-th'e door to mar the e smooth outer surface of thdddor;

Other-l objects andfi advantagespertaining to the--*details""and economies of-th'e invention will '50 Fig. 1 is 'anelevational view-' of the-inside 'ot'my' door in'as'sembled and lowered or closedposition. Fig? 2""isa fragmentary"cross-sectional view 7 along the line 2"'2 irrFiga- 1.

Fig: 3 is "a fragmentary cross secti0nal= view along the line 3'-3 inFig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view of my ddor in installed and" closed positionthe doorwayt of "a building; portions *ofthe building structure-i being shown in" 'cross" section. I

' Fig? 5 is" a iragmentary cross sectional view along the line-5 5 in Fig. 1; V

Fig: '7 is "a fragmentary fexplcd'ed' 5 perspeeti vet view'of partoiftheeIements of mydoor sectidnv While my 'doorconstruction may be u'sed on? any type 'of'bonventidnal idoor'jfit is-particularlyi adapted for'u'se enlarge garage doorsof the ty'pe which are opene'd' by movingithe-*ddor*up"-- wardlyiinto alhorizontalposition: Fig? 4411113 tra'tes'an installationof thisitfip'e in which a'doorf opening between thedoor framemembers closedby." my. 'door generallyiindicatedat "2; The door comprises a pluralityiof "lioriz'ontally"'ar-= rranged sections B'Which are joinedbyt'hinge 4- positionediat the ends 'of th'e door sections *aiid" central hinges 1.5'fpositidned between 'tli'e'i'ends'of the: door sections; It Lwillbe readilyl understood that-asemany central? hinges 5 -as are desired" may-be provided, depending-upon the widt'h'v of thedoon- I I Thezouter hinges Lareprovidd with rollers 6;

arranged to :roll in theguiderails-l the guid railshavingagenerally. vertical reach alongvzthes sides :of :.the=.:door= opening; secured' to "the door iramecb y -.the brackets. 18 (see Fig; 5) and a genes erasl-ly .JhOFiZOntBiltleaCh "9 ;extending to the :Ereait 0f the doon opening; The vertical and'horizonta-l reaches-of the guide rails. are connected :by a curved section: l 0. The constructiomsand 1 ar 5 rangement of l "the J hinge r members; rollersan guide rails- -will -be described 'in -greater 'deta 3 presently. 5

Brackets i H are secured I? to the wail-1 0i the building and to the upper portions of the guide rails forsuppoiting pulleys l2 above each *e'dge of th door and-lift cha-ins I3 are passedover the pulleys'td the lower corners' of the do'or *fcr rai's ing*-' 'the door.-' The chains'-- -l3 extend t0 any de sired tyr ie of counterba1ance =*sys'teirr;- theetype illustrated consisting ofamovable=p'1illii'y l4 he in'g connected-' to tlie end-z'of the tension spr-ing 555 [5? The brackets l l may' bl-z shaped-11c supporti x 1. 3 a driving motor and gears for power operation of the door, but in the example illustrated, this mechanism is omitted and the door is arranged for manual operation only.

The construction of the several sections 3 of the door is most clearly illustrated in Figs. 2, 3, 5 and 7. Each section consists of end stile elements I6, top rail element 11, bottom rail element l8. and a panel I9. The rail elements I! and [8 are formed as by rolling or stamping the edges of sheet metal stock which also forms the panel I9. I

The upper rail portion of each section as is most clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 7 consists of a horizontal flange 20 connected tothe body of the panel l3, by the upwardly and outwardly opening angular rebate 2|. The lower rail portion [8 of each section consists of a rearwardly turned horizontal flange 22, the rear edge of which is connected to a rearwardly and downwardly opening angular rebate portion 23. The rebate portions 2| and 23 are of equal vertical depth and extend over one half the depth of the rail sections so as to form an over-lapping joint between the sections when two sections are hinged together as shown in Fig. 2. r

The end stile elements of each section as is most clearly shown in Figs. 5 and '7 consists of generally U-shaped stampings having a relatively wide inner flange 24 and a relatively narrow outer flange 25. The upper ends of the web portion of the stile elements It are notched on the outer side as at 26 so as to fit snugly against the rebate portion 2I of the upper rail portion of each panel. The lower ends of the stile elements l6 are notched as at 21 on their interior sides so as to fit snugly within the rebate portions 23 of the lower rail portions of each panel section. The stile elements I6 are thus conveniently and securely fastened to the panels is by lapping the outer flange 25 of the stile elements against the inside of the panels l9 and tack-welding the edge of the flange 25 to the panel as indicated at 28 in Figs. 2, 3 and 5. The abutting edges of the ends of the stile element and the rail portions of the 'panel 15 are conveniently exposed and may be welded as indicated at 29 in Fig. 5.

The stile elements I6 may also be used as interior stile elements of the door sections, but I prefer to use a slightly modified interior stile element 30, such as is illustrated in Figs. 1 and '7. The inner stile element 33 is provided with a relatively narrow outer flange 3| and a relatively wide inner flange 32 connected by the web portion 33 of the same width as the web portion of the stile elements IS. The ends of the interior stile elements are notched in the same manner as the ends of the end stile elements, but instead of being formed into U-shaped cross section, the flanges 3| and 32 are folded into opposite direc tions from the web to form a generally Z-shaped cross section. By turning the interior flange 3| oppositelyfrom the outer flange 32, the junction between the outer flange and the panel [9 is clearly exposed along the inside of the panel so that it may be welded thereto as indicated at 34 in Fig. 1.

The hinges 4 and 5 for joining the several sections of the door are conveniently secured to the inside flanges 24 and 32 of the stile elements by bolts 35 so that no bolts or screws project through the panels [9 to mar or interrupt the smooth outer surface of the door.

One or more of the panel sections 19 may be formed with an aperture closed with a pane of .4 glass 3'! to form windows in the door as desired. The window panes are conveniently mounted in their openings 36 by means of annular gaskets 38 as is most clearly shown in Fig. 6.

The rebate portion 23 along the lower edge of the lowermost door sections forms a convenient shoulder for attaching a deformable rubber bumper 39 along the lower edge of the door as is most clearly shown in Fig. 3. The bumper may be easily attached by passing self-tapping screws 40 through a flange on the bumper and the vertical wall of the rebate portion 23. Cleats 4| are secured to the center stile element of the lowermost section of the door to assist in opening and closing the door as is illustrated in Fig. 3.

The hinges 4 comprise upper leaves 42 secured to the inner flanges 24 of the stiles by the bolts 35 and having lower end portions bent inwardly of the door into cylindrical portions 43 receiving the hinge pins 44. The'hinge pins 44 are supported between the side flanges 45 of the generally U-shaped lower hinge leaves 46. The flanges 45 also support pintle pins 41 for supporting the rollers G. The interior hinges 5 are similar to the end hinges 4 but do not have the pintle pins or rollers mounted thereon.

My door construction is particularly useful and economical to construct in that the combined panel and rail portions of each section of the door may be produced from sheet metal by stamping or rolling and cut to the desired length to fit door openings of various widths. The stile elements are economically produced as stampings and easily welded to the panel and rail sections as previously described. The hinges and other door fixtures are easily mounted on the door sections with bolts positioned entirely on the inside of the panels so that the outer surface of the finished door is completely smooth and/or attractive appearance.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. Door construction for the sections of a horizontally hinged sectional door comprising end and intermediate stile elements of sheet metal material having narrow outer flanges and wide inner flanges connected by web sections, the upper ends of said stile elements being notched from the outside, the lower ends of said stile elements being notched from the inside, said notches extending over one half the thickness of said stile elements, an outer panel of folded sheet metal construction having a flat body lapped upon the outer flanges of said stile elements and terminating in an upper rail flange lapped upon the upper ends of said stile elements, said upper rail having an outwardly opening rebate nesting within said upper notches in said stile elements, a lower rail terminal flange folded from said panel and having an inwardly opening rebate nesting within said lower notches in said stile elements, said panel being welded to said outer flanges of said stile elements with the web sections of the end stile elements flush with the end edges of the panel, and fixtures for connecting said door sections to adjacent sections of the door secured thereto by bolts passed through said inner flanges of said stile elements, the abutting portions of said rail and stile elements being welded together.

2. Door construction for the sections of a horizontally hinged sectional door comprising end and intermediate stile elements of sheet metal material and having outer flanges and inner flanges connected by web sections, the upper ends of said stile elements being notched from the outside, the lower ends of said stile elements being notched from the inside, a flat outer sheet metal panel lapped upon the outer flanges of said stile elements and terminating in an upper rail flange folded and lapped upon the upper ends of said stile elements, said upper rail having an outwardly opening rebate nesting within said upper notches in said stile elements, and a lower rail terminal flange folded from said panel and having an inwardly opening rebate nesting within said lower notches in said stile elements, said panel being welded to said outer flanges of said stile elements with the web sections of the end stile elements flush with the end edges of the panel.

3. Door construction for the sections of a horizontally hinged sectional door comprising end and intermediate stile elements of sheet metal material and U shaped cross section having narrow outer flanges and wide inner flanges, the upper ends of said stile elements being notched from the outside, the lower ends of said stile elements being notched from the inside, said notches extending over one-half the thickness of said stile elements, and a flat metal door panel welded in lapped engagement with said outer flanges of said stile elements and with its ends in flush arrangement with the outer edges of said end stile elements, the-end stile elements being disposed in laterally inwardly opening relation whereby the webs thereof are flush with the ends of said panel, said panel terminating in upper and lower terminal flanges forming rebated rail portions folded therefrom and nesting within the notches in said stile elements and welded to the edges thereof.

4. Door construction for the sections of a horizontally hinged sectional door comprising end and intermediate stile elements of sheet metal material having narrow outer flanges and inside inner flanges, said flanges being connected by web portions disposed vertically and transversely to the plane of the door section and exposed on both sides from the inside of the door, the upper ends of said stile elements being notched from the outside, the lower ends of said stile elements being notched from the inside, said intermediate stile element having the flanges thereof turned oppositely from its web portion and a flat metal door panel welded in lapped engagement with said outer flanges of said stile elements, said panel terminating in upper and lower terminal flanges forming rail portions folded therefrom and nesting within said notches in said stile elements.

HERBERT C. BLODGETT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

